“The Beijing Symphony Orchestra will tour North America to celebrate Spring Festival with a mix of Eastern and Western compositions,” reports Chen Jie in Thursday’s (1/26) China Daily (Beijing). “Under the baton of conductor Tang Muhai, the orchestra will [perform] at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Feb. 6, the Sony Center for the Performing Arts in Toronto on Feb 9. and the National Arts Center in Ottawa on Feb. 12. In the United States, the first half will include Chinese composer Chen Qigang’s L’eloingement (Go to the West) for string orchestra, Chinese composer Huang Ruo’s Oboe Concerto, and an orchestral piece adapted from the Peking Opera classic The Drunken Concubine…. Chen’s piece is based on a folk tune popular in northern China…. [Ruo’s] Oboe Concerto will feature Wang Liang, principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic…. The second half of the concert in the US will feature Gustav Mahler’s Song of the Earth…. In Canada, the orchestra will start the concerts with the national anthems of Canada and China, followed by the Chinese folk song Beijing Tidings. Chinese violinist Ning Feng will play Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major. The orchestra will also play Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.”
Posted January 31, 2017
